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FUn EPISODE 3 ? , SYNOPSIS. . John Davis and H&wk Morgan, executors of the estate of John Carr, miner, joint guardians of his adopted daughter, Ethel, quarrel over the disposition of the profits of the mine. Morgan secretly/! makes several unsuccessful attempts on ' the life of Davis, in one of which the latter Is rescued by a mysterious hermit. Morgan summons a villainous accomplice i named Spider Bellas and they plot to kill Davia. John Davis, tricked into crossing the log which had been nearly sawed Id two by the would-be murderer, j Hawk Morgan, made a wild sideways leap as the trunk gave way beneath his weight Landing in the branches f a near-by tree he went crashing through them until by good fortune he managed to hook one arm over a lender bough and stay his descent From this he hung for a moment, then as he felt his strength come back he reached up and grasped the limb with his other hand. Hawk, seeing that his intended victim was about to save himself, drew his weapon and fired. The bullet half severed the limb which gave away, and John again plunged downward. Had it not been that there were a Dumber of fir and cedar trees pro- i Jecting from the side of the steep In-line, Davis certainly must have ended ip a dead man. As it was, however, their tops through which he fell while not rugged enough to tear him limb from limb checked his fall greatly, < plunging at last into a great mass of ?wrVI^V, Vo/1 ottolonnha/? ^attti frATTl uvn wiiiv,xi uau a vcuauvu^u v*v?? ^ v*m the ridge. Here he lay motionless, almost completely buried one arm thrust bore the surface. From the brink of the canyon side, Morgan, the, arch conspirator, peered as the other man went crashing down in his long fall. A wolf-like smile spread the watcher's face. "He's gone to glory this time, all right, and the girl end mine will eventually all belong to me." On the other side of the gap from which Spider Bellas had been hurled John when the former tried to kill him, the Spider arose from the little ledge upon which he had fallen, little the worse for the battle he had been engaged In. Limping slightly and cursing beneath his breath he started to cross the ravine lower down. The noise of Davis' falling body made him ^ turn his head, and for an Instant he saw the other in mad flight. From where he stoodShe was unable to see the termination of the fall, but upon the opposite side of the brink he saw - the figure of his confederate, the Hawk, and waved him a salutation of triumph over the success of their plan. This done the Spider resumed his way, his intention being to join the Hawk upon the other side. Morgan, seeing his victim end up a a motionless body at the bottom of the canyon, set about obliterating all traces of the fact that he had been tampering with the fallen trunk of the pine, whereupon he began to retrace the trail leading to the cabin. Ethel, -i seeinsr him anDroach. opened the door and came forth to greet him. Hastily the Hawk told her of the accident to John, the breaking of the tree beneath him and his fall to death. White of N face the girl paused only long enough to throw on a heavy wrap, and closely followed by Rainface they retraced their steps to the scene of the tragedy. The Indian, following with ropes and blankets, met the Spider and was told who he was, whereupon that rascal reiterated the story of Morgan and the four hastened on to their grewsome task of rescuing the body. While this had been happening the Hermit of the Mountain, fur dressed and on a hunting trip, chancing to pass along the bottom of the canyon, saw a gun and cap lying upon the snow. Instantly his keen eyes swept the side of the'descent, noting the broken tree * tops through which John had crashed. Realizing that someone had fallen through them he began casting about, ft moment later discovering the out +?n^(ncr arm r\f fho ennw-hnriod nrsp Beetling over him and finding*him aenseless, the old Hermit quickly examined the body for signs of life. Finding them, he straightened up and looked around. Above him some twenty feet was a ledge of rock from whieh a bowlder * projected, and unwinding his lariat from his body he made a cast that settled the noose around the bowlder. Then fastening the loose end of the rope about the senseless form, he ascended the lasso hand over hand until . he stood upon the ledge. This done, it was but the work of a couple of minutes for him to hoist the recumbent figure to his perch. Next he raised the form of Davis to his shoulder and bore him away, having left no ^ue behind him on the snow as to how he had vanished with the unconscious man he had found. The rescue party finding the place where Davis had fallen saw the marks In the snow where someone had ap- j proached him, but no trail leading away firm the spot. So far as they y could discover both the dead man and I ftfto finder of the body had vanished | NOV into thin air. There was nothing left to do but retrace their steps, Ethel with a heavy heart and Morgan with a much-puzzled brain. Walking with heavy steps beneath his burden the Hermit continued his way until he reached a cave at the foot of the ravine, the mouth of the place being well screened by a growth of shrubs. Into this opening he carTied his burden and lighting a lantern again examined him. Finding no bones broken, he secured a bottle from a small medicine chest. Carefully he read the label. "To induce sound sleep give patient twenty drops in water." The old man drew the cork. "And keep him unconscious I must until I can return him to the Indian and the girl." Pressing the draught to the still senseless man's lips he watched the other until he saw a gentle stirring of the form, soon followed by the deep breathing of slumber. Then taking down a bow and arrow he wrote a note, fastened It to the arrow's shaft and stepped to the mouth of the cave. Night had fallen when he cautiously drew near the cabin. Taking aim at a lighted window he let the arrow fly, and with a splintering of glass the shaft passed through and stood quivering in a table. Alarmed by the sound of the breaking glass, the occupants of the place ran to the table. Ethel, arriving first, snatched the paDer from the shaft and opening it read aloud. "Davis is alive and in a deep sleep in a cave hidden by brush at the south of Pinnacle Rock in the gorge. See Jeremiah YI-25." "And what does he mean by thatl Who is Jeremiah?" growled the Hawk. Without speaking the girl slipping into her room picked up her Bible. Quickly improvising a litter and securing lanterns and pine torches Ethel, Morgan, Rainface and the big-hearted Bridget started on their way to find the cave. With Pinnacle Rock as their guide they soon located its entrance, and pushing aside fche screen entered. A glance showed them that it contained no evidences of ever having been inhabited, the only object that saet their eyes being the form of the unconscious man. Ethel, rushing forward, fell upon her knees beside it "Thank heaven he still lives." she cried fervently as she lifted her face after having it?before his lips that she might feel if he were breathing. Murderous though his disappointment was that he had again failed to make way with his rival, the Hawk was obliged to smother it "That's lucky. We must get him back to the cabin as soon as we can." Placing him upon the litter they began their return. An hour later John, sufficiently revived to stand upon his feet turned to Wnrtrpn "I thought I heard a shot as I clung to the tree just before I fell," he said. The one addressed shook his head. "There was no shot The report you heard was the breaking of the limb as It gave. away. For a second I thought, myself, that it was a shot." "Guess I'd better go to bed," murmured Davis drowsily. "I've had excitement enough for one day." Yielding to the entreaties of the girl that he occupy her room that he/ might have a comfortable bed, he at last went into the room and throwing off his outer garments threw himself up He Was Driven to the Earth. on the mattress and quickly fell into a deep sleep. Curling herself comfortably in a big chair at his side, the girl settled down to watch over him through the night that she might he on'hand' to minister to any need, while Rainface, with a grunt of approval, curled himself up like a dog on the mat before the door. An hour passed and all was still save the breathing of the sleeping man. Softly arising the girl again secured her Bible and opening it at Jeremiah VI-25, read: "Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way, for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side." Struck ? mmmmmmcmmmmmmmmmmumm IB & MITH ItfC EL1ZED FROM VITAC Copyrlekt 1010. h by a sudden thought she turned to the I i Book of Micah and again read: "A man's enemies are the men of his j own house." Laying the book aside she rested i J her cheek upon her hand and became , lost in thought. "The men of the , house!" Rainface, Morgan, the Spider ?could it be possible that one of them was plotting against this other man? Deeply she pondered. , Meanwhile within the harness house ; the two desperadoes sat with heads close together over a bottle of whisky. ! Morgan began cursing loud and deep. "If I can do away witn mm 1 get tne All He Saw Wm the Terrible Machine j | Upon Which He Was Lashed. gold and girl. Curse him, he seems to ! 1 bear a charmed life, though." The Spider raised the bottle. 1 "His luck can't hold out forever. We've got two strings to our bow this time, and the scheme we have just thought out has got to work." The other rascal clenched his fist and struck the table. "It would seem so. You go up the i trail in the morning and fix the dead- j fall and I will look after the trapdoor ; before anyone is up. One more drink and then we'll turn in." A moment i later they had put out the light. By the first light of morning Morgan crept cautiously down the cellar i by means of the outside door. Care! fully he examined the ceiling, until in i 1 the dim light he stood beneath the j place he sought. Directly above his head was a trapdoor of sufficient dimensions to permit a man to drop, 1 hinged upon one side and held up on j 1 the other by a huge iron bolt which j was worked by means of a lever. ; Drawing an oil can from his pocket, 1 the Hawk began carefully lubricating j the rusty iron lever. Finishing this and being assured that all was in j working order, he left the cellar with j the secrecy with which he had come.! Nor during this time had the Spider been idle. Leaving the harness room in the \ ghostly glow of daybreak, the Spider | found a place on the mountain trail j 1 that promised to suit his evil purpose.; A slight fall of snow had come during ! the night, and trodding his way along it in such a way that anyone follow-: lng it would be sure to follow in his steps, the Spider bent his steps between two trees with rough bowlders; upon each side of them, halting when . he reached the place he had chosen. At this point a huge tree trunk had fallen until it hung above the spot, j caught in the branches of its fellow trees, and here he began the setting of his trap. First cutting a trigger which he placed and cunningly concealed across the trail in such manner that a passing foot would strike it, he cut the log in such manner that the slightest disturbance would send it crashing r? nn-ri tnavlfoViltr nmo)i incr fn HaaiVi UVTTU? iLi\/ T 1 LUU1J \.t UCUlUg IV U^U^Ai , whatever creature chanced to be pass-! Ing beneath. The connecting rope be-1 tween the trigger and trunk he care-1 fully concealed with debris of the for- j est, then with a look of satisfaction for a moment surveyed his work, after which he stole away with the caution ; of a lynx. As the breakfast horn blew, Mor- j gan and the Spider came from the bam wfth the sleepy air of men just; awakened from a long night's sleep, j Calling their morning's greetings to i those of the cabin they entered the! cabin and ate heartily as they talked j of the events of the day before. The Hawk turned to the others. "Mr. Bellas is a mining expert who will be of great assistance to us in locating the missing mine," he said, with a meaning glance at the Spider. "This afternoon we will search the hills for it. Suppose that you. Rain- j face, give friend Davis the keys to Carr's desk that he may look over j them while Bellas ai>d I are searching! for the mine." John, still weak and shaky from his fall of the day before, nodded his assent. "I am afraid I could not keep up with you today," he acquiesced with a weak smile. The prospect of being several hours alone with the girl at his side was ample compensation for! his aches and bruises of the day be- j BMHHHMWHSMMHMNHMMMNMQ TOW 3RAPH PHOTO PLA i VRigrob fore. Cuuningly the Hawk began placing chairs and the table, arranging them so that his victim must sit over the trapdoor. "And now for the search," he said as he drew the Spider's arm beneath his own. Out of the door they went, merely glancing at Rainface who just outside the door of the porch was working at the stormdoor with ax and other tools, but no sooner were they beyond the vision of any possible watchers than they wheeled, stole upon the cabin again and disappeared into the cellar. Through the knot hole in the floor that the Hawk had unsuccessfully used in his former attempt upon the life of John, he peered into the room above. The chair in which Davis sat and which had been cunningly placed by the plotter was just at the edge of the trapdoor, which was concealed by a rug. Seeing that their victim was in the place desired, very cautiously he drew the bolt of the lever. Sitting unsuspectingly in his chair, John, caught by the trap, felt, himself going down. The desperate spring which he made to right himself was all unavailing; beneath him the rug disappeared and the next instant his legs* were through the hole. Before he had time to call out he was jerked downward, his head striking violently upon the side of the trap and leaving his mind a blank, the next instant landing a senseless, huddled heap upon the basement floor below. With a few swift movements the Spider thrust the rug into the room above and replaced it as it had been the moment before, as quickly hoisting the trap to its former place and shooting back the lever. Not over five seconds had passed, and the room above remained the same as before except that Davis vanished as a bubble bursts. Binding the senseless man hand and foot they gagged him and placed him In a long wooden box which bore the label "Mining machinery for John Carr," closing the lid with a metal clasp. "I reckon hq's settled this trip," panted the Hawk. "Now for the next move." Quickly they left the cellar. Ethel, entering the room which she had left the moment before .on some slight errand, stared about in amazement. It was empty. Softly she called "John?where are you?" but there was no response. Bridget and Rainface, attracted by her exclamations came hurriedly In, followed a moment later by the Hawk and Delias. "What's up?" demanded Morgan. Swiftly she told them of the unaccountable vanishment of the missing one. "Another mystery," murmured the Hawk in the tones of one greatly perplexed. "Come on and we will scatter and search. The scoundrel cannot have gone far." Drawing his revolver he rushed from the room the otl* ers upon his heels, filled with wonderment, dazed by the suddenness of it all and half wondering if the world had gone mad. A half hour's search revealed nothing and slowly they returned, standing idly about uhtil the girl with a despairing gesture again entered the room. In the cellar below a flicker of consciousness returned to the imprisoned John, and feeling the returning tide of life he began to writhe and twist j beneath his bonds. His feet touched the end of the chest, and discovering that he could maae a souna Dy Deating them against it he began a tattoo. | Ethel in the room above him, hearing j the weird sound and being.unable to ! locate it, ran to the door and called ; to the others telling them of the mys- j terious noises that had reached her ears. "What has become of it?" queried , the Hawk as they all strained their j hearing. "Listen," she breathed. But John, j convinced that he could make no one : hear had become silent "Ghosts, most likely," sneered the Spider with a leer at her. "Spooks ! come back to the scene of the crime." j "More likely-it was further deviltry I on the part of that mysterious stran- : ger," added Morgan. "Bellas here, and I will go to the barn and' keep a look- . out If he turns up we'll get him DU11". >Y 1U1 a mot aoouiaiiv.^ tv that she need pot fear so long as they were there to protect her, they disappeared within the barn. Once there they lost little time In pursuing the plan they had decided upon. Closing the door behind them they passed to a side entrance which ! lay beyond the view of a possible j watcher from the house, and making : a short detour crept silently into the 1 cellar. Gloom filled the place, and 1 feeling the way with their feet they ' approached the box and bent over it. j As they did so a form arose from he-' hind it and a mighty blow sent the | Hawk reeling across the room, while the Spider felt himself gripped in a stran- i gling grasp. Back and forth across the room the pair fought in the semi-! darkness, while the Hawk, half dazed \ by the blow he had received, staggered uncertainly about unable to distinguish friend from foe. Ethel and Bridget, startled by the sudden turmoil beneath Y I The floor, clutched each other in alarm, j "Howly SaiDts, but it must be all ! the divils of the Pit, thimselves. i Phwat shall we do?" cried the Irish- j woman. Ethel sprang to the table j and the next instant a lighted lamp was in her hand. "We must go and see. It might be John in distress," she cried. Quick as a cat Bridget seized a rolling pin and, rolling the sleeve up a mighty arm, went waddling toward the cellar door. "May the Lord have mercy upon thim who is bateine him, be they saints or devils," she cried as she went heavily down the steps. Lamp held high the girl followed her close. As the tight from the lamp falling over them revealed the faces of the struggling men each to the other, by common consent they ceased their battling, and as Davis in amazement dropped his arms his heart leaped as he found Ethel clinging to him, sobbing, pressing her cheek against his shoulder. Gently he drew her to him. "Where have you been?" she asked, quickly returning his embrace and freeing herself as a faint tide of color arose to her cheeks. Grimly John pointed to the box. "In that thing where I lay until I ; managed to break my way out" He | took a step toward Morgan. "What i were you doing hefe." j The Hawk fell back a step before the threatening front of the other. "Don't be too hasty, Davis. Bellas J and I were in the barn watching and | we saw a man in a fur coat and with ! I his face masked sneak around the cor- ' j ner of the house. We followed, but ! when we had arrived there he was ' j out of sight Seeing the cellar door open and thinking he had come down here, we came down also and had hard! ly entered when you jumped us like 1 ; a mountain lion. Had it not been that ( i Miss Ethel and Bridget heard the rack- j1 et and came, I believe you would have killed us both before we could have 1 gotteD out of here." Slowly, deep in ' thought, John turned to the door. "This thing has got to stop. We ; j j must catch that man or none of our j I lives will be safe. What the meaning |1 ' of all of it is I don't know, but I am | ( ! going to- catch the villain and find i I out." Morgan pointed directly up the j1 j mountainside. 11 "He must have gone that way. Til i go to the right Let Bellas wait five minutes then go to the left. Davis, ( ^ j Surveyed Their Devilish Work. yon wait ten minutes, also, then come ' straight up the trail. We'll search the ridge and meet at the top." Davis, the last to depart, had made but a few steps when Ethel came hur- ( rying up to him. In one hand was the letter which had been attached to the arrow, in the other the Bible, and opening the book she read to him the words from Jeremiah and Micah. Hei ' hand fell on his arm. "Don't go," she pleaded. "I am afraid j for you." Rainface, joining them, ah so showed his disapproval John laughed. "That message means nothing. Morgan is my nearest relative and Bellas his friend, therefore mine. We'll b# J back in half an hour." ' With a parting wave of his hand h? went up the trail, his rifle ready and his eyes searching every suspiciouslooking object. Cautiously he advanced, every step bringing him nearer to the trigger of the dead-fall which ( lay between the two trees. ( Slight as was the impact of his foot v * * 'j. ~?. ii-j "r _ i ( against tne trigger it starneu uuuu and he shot a glance ' upward. The mighty tree already was falling, de- c scending upon him with a force that ? would crush him to pulp. He tried to spring back, but his feet caught * in the rope and tripped him, and before he could recover himself he was c driven to the earth and lay half stunned, half crushed on his back, the 1 trunl> across his chest. Had it not been that there was a 5 small depression in the ground where he fell, and which prevented the full e # nrv p weight of the tree from bearing upon him, he must have been crushed to death by its fall. Knowing that he could not long survive the awful pressure, despairingly he cast his eyes about. His ride lay close at hand, and seizing it and using it as a lever, with a mighty effort he raised the trunk a few inches and wriggled himself free. Bruised and battered he gathered himself together as best he could, and went staggering along a trail. In his dazed condition he did not realize that instead of taking the path which led to the cabin, he was following the way which wound up at the small sawmill which John Carr in hie lifetime had constructed for the sawing of the logs which went into hie buildings. The Hawk and the Spider looking from a window of the mill where they had retired for a consultation, saw their escaped victim come stumbling toward them. The voice of Morgan arose In a savage curse. "Now how in h 1 did he escape that dead-fall." The Spider already was upon his feet, a glare In his eyen and a heavy billet of wood in hin hand. "Never mind how he did it for the fact Is that he did. But Fll get him now." Raising his arm he hurled the billet, and the missile flying true as a bullet landed with a crash upon the advancing one's head. Beneath the Impact he wenf down as does an ox smitten by a mauL Rushing from the mill the two ruffians fell upon him, , and picking him up bore him quickly out of sight within the building. Throwing him upon the Boor they stood gazing down upon him, the hatred of two fiends showing in their faces. The Spider drew his gun, "I'm going to plug him now good and plenty," he swore, but seeing the other's movement the Hawk struck ap the weapon. "Put that gun away, you fool. We Bon't want to leave any bullet holes behind us. Anyway, I've got a better scheme?a scheme that will make bim repent with his last breath that be dared stand between me and that mine and the girl." "As you say," growled the Spider. 'But what's the main idea?" Without answering him the Hawk stepped to the gasoline engine which propelled the saw, started it, then pointed to the traveler which was used to carry logs to the spinning disk with its jagged :eeth. "We'll put him on that and let the machinery do the rest. He's tough, all ight, but I reckon that buzz saw will oe able to bite him. Lend a hand lere." Quickly securing bonds they tied the still unconscious one hand and foot, :hen stopping the machine they laid Davis upon the traveler, lashing him jpon it so that when the contrivance vas again put into motion he must nevitably be carried to the whirling )lade and his body severed even as vould have been the trunk of a pine, rhen drawing back they surveyed their i?MJ ^??i- i i.u leviUHU wors wuu siiiisi.u.v:uuu. "It's too merciful au end for him," >aid the, Spider. "After all the trouble le has made us and caused us to feel like a pair of fools, I'd like to see him wriggle a bit just before he realizes what is going to happen to him." "Leave that to me," swore Morgan. 'We'll wake him up so he can see his 3nish."-. Suiting the action to the word he picked up a bucket of water ind dashed it in their captive's face. Slowly the eyes of John opened and tie glanced about, but the two wouldie murderers had crouched beyond the line of his vision and all he saw was the terrible machine upon which he was lashed. He gave a great surge of lis body, but the cords which bound lim were of great strength and the ?ffort was wasted. Sneaking up to the switch which put :he machine into operation, the Hawk :hrew it on and slowly at first, then 'aster second by second until its voice irose to a snarling whine, the saw bejan to spin. And as it did so the traveler which bore the body of the helpess one began slowly to approach the whizzing teeth. Seeing it all and realising that anither minute must be his last if he re 1 J .1-ViAi.fl ha n"<i? Tahn r?nt HUiLltU iitaiicu nucit in. ??wv? ^v.w ill the great strength of his body Into i last terrible struggle against the ashings which bound him. (END OF THIRD EPISODE.) What's in a Name? In the purchasing agent's office of >ne of the largest, if not the largest, corporations in Marion county, there vas a clerk named Shaw and a stenigrapher named Smart. The wife of the purchasing agent called over the telephone one day and isked for her nusoana. "He has just stepped out," replied * diss Smart, who answered the phone. "Oh, pshaw!" exclaimed the ptirihasing agent's wife. Misunderstanding, the stenographer eplied: "Why, he's not here, either." "Oh, you're smart," commented the mrchasir.g agent's wife. "Yes. that's my name," replied the itenographer.?Indianapolis New*